


Play Dead

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Immortal Starrk, M/M, Post-Aizen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 23:12:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3336314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Part of A Coyote's Stories</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This is the same concept of Starrk that I used in Survival. :) He's unbelievably ancient. Now, on with the show!

"We're in big trouble Starrk!" Lilinette hissed as Starrk crouched behind a pillar.

"I am well aware." He grunted, trying to think of how to get out of this trap.

The situation wasn't good. He shouldn't have come back to Los Noches. He knew that. He'd done it anyway because he'd wanted to pick up his art supplies out of his wing. How was he supposed to replace those? Going to Soul Society and stealing them would be every bit as risky as braving Los Noches. And he wanted them, damn it! He might be condemned to wander the wastes for all eternity but he could at least make some sketches of it.

It had been the wrong decision. He'd zigged when he should have zagged, to quote Grimmjow. Now he was in quite a fix, with literally four taichou stalking him through the bowels of Los Noches. He knew the place better than they did and that was all he had going for him. If he couldn't think of something a bit better they were well and truly screwed.

Starrk ruffled through his mind and memories for any kind of idea or strategy that could save him. He was unutterably ancient – the shinigami had no idea – so surely he could think of something. One idle memory caught his attention and he latched onto it.

Dug a pit and lined it with stakes. Hidden beneath the ground. Great predator wants to eat us but stupid, stupid. Lure it closer… Into the trap.

Predator is prey. We feast.

Starrk licked his lips. Szayel's wing. It was full of traps, if it was still intact. Could he lead the shinigami into those vicious, deadly, lethal traps?

"Worth a try." He muttered before slipping away. The damned shinigami could track him all too easily. Aizen's dampening had let him stand among the weak without killing them, but nothing could hide him. And his own control of his reiatsu was as abysmal as it had always been.

In this particular case, though, that might be a good thing. Ducking and dodging through Los Noches, Starrk dodged potentially lethal attacks as he tried to bring the shinigami to Szayel's area of the place. Then a voice reached him.

"Espada-san!" Oh, that voice… Starrk despised it. Not because the shinigami had tried to kill him but rather, because he had failed. His last hope for freedom from this pathetic excuse for a life, gone. Not even one of the most powerful taichou of Soul Society could cleanse his soul. Well, if they could not do it then he would just have to live. And he was damned if he would live in a cage. "We just want to talk!"

"You began that rather poorly, Kyoraku taichou." He called back laconically as Lilinette hissed angrily.

"He has some balls to say that after that big guy tried to nail us!" Starrk nodded as he kept going. A huge man with an eyepatch had attempted to destroy them, laughing the entire time. Starrk had managed to put the man in his place but that action had attracted far, far too much attention.

"We would like to apologize for that! Zaraki taichou wasn't supposed to be here…" Starrk tuned the man out. He was almost to the right area. Just a bit… further…

"Oh shit!" Lilinette spat as Starrk stopped, staring at the devastation in front of him with an absolutely blank expression. "What now, Starrk?" She asked and he thought carefully. He had another tactic. It was an act of desperation that he and Lilinette had come up with once, when they were idly talking. They'd never, ever needed to use it. But now… "Oh no, seriously?" She could see what was in his mind.

"I'm afraid so." He said quietly, gazing over the ruins of Szayel's laboratory. There was nothing for him to use here and nowhere to go. Nothing but emptiness. Turning around slowly, he watched as the four shinigami following him materialized. Two of them he had never seen, a stranger in makeup with an unholy grin on his face and a man with long black hair and silver clips. The other two consisted of the boy who had fought Halibel and the man in pink. Kyoraku Shunsui. Starrk met his smile with a blank, empty gaze. He had existed before this man had even been a dream in his grandmother's mind. He would exist long after he was nothing but dust, even his memory forgotten.

"Ah, arrancar! I cannot wait to examine you!" The man in the makeup said with far too much interest. Shunsui frowned before snapping.

"Mayuri! Enough. Starrk-san, please do not resist." He said gently, like a man trying to talk another off a cliff ledge. He didn't realize how apt that comparison was. "Come with us to Soul Society. Halibel and Grimmjow are already with us, being given a second chance. You can have one too."

"No." Starrk said it with absolute finality. He knew better than that. When they had any chance to examine him they would realize what they had. And when that happened they would never, ever let him go. Now that he didn't kill everyone simply by breathing, he had some hopes for companionship in the sands of Hueco Mundo. Soul Society would give him nothing but shackles and chains.

"You cannot escape." The man with the long black hair said.

"You are correct." Starrk said calmly, acknowledging the truth of the matter. "You have me." He couldn't hope to evade them now and he couldn't outrun them. As good as his sonido was, it wasn't that good. "But you will not take me alive." He said, lifting his guns. The shinigami readied themselves but Kyoraku held up a hand, holding them back.

"Please Starrk-san. You survived once. Don't make us kill you now." He said and the sincerity and honest concern in his face and eyes made Starrk wish he could take the man's offer. But he didn't know. Shunsui didn't understand the monster that stood in front of him, the force that his fellows would see as the deadliest of threats.

"You misunderstand, shinigami. I will not make you kill me." He said before looking at his weapons in sadness. "I'm sorry, Lilinette." He said softly.

"It's okay Starrk. I can be brave!" She said bravely and he smiled, sadly. Then he looked up, deliberately meeting grey eyes.

"Goodbye, Kyoraku taichou." He said before raising his gun. The shinigami spread out, readying their weapons and Shunsui's hands dropped to his blades… and his eyes went wide as Starrk abruptly reversed his weapon, resting the barrel against his temple.

"NO!" Shunsui leapt forward but there was simply no time. The eruption of the incredibly powerful cero illuminated the body in front of them in an unholy light. As the energy dissipated the body in front of them slowly collapsed, falling to its knees before slumping forward in a crumpled, smoking heap. "No…" Shunsui knelt beside what was left of the Primera Espada, reaching out to touch it. The head and part of the shoulders were gone, obliterated by the power the Espada had unleashed on himself.

All three of the other taichou stared, still caught in a web of shock and surprise. Even Mayuri was slack jawed and dazed. None of them had expected the deadly confrontation with the Primera Espada to end with such gruesome finality. As they recovered, though, Byakuya exchanged a glance with Toshiro. Neither of them knew what to say. Kyoraku was staring at the corpse, his expression devastated.

"I never wanted this." He whispered, looking at that broken form. Then a flash of silver caught his eye and he looked down, seeing the gun where it lay beside a lax hand. Reaching down, Kyoraku picked up the weapon. "Lilinette?" No response. "Lilinette-chan, are you there?" Surely that would provoke the little arrancar to an angry response. Nothing. Tears misted his eyes as he gently set the gun down beside its' deceased wielder.

"…Can I dissect him now?" Mayuri finally said. "Although he's in rather poor condition…" Now that half of his potential specimen had been obliterated, he wasn't nearly as interested.

"No." Shunsui said firmly before taking a deep breath. He carefully picked up what was left of the man. "I will take him to my Division for an honorable burial." He said. "Toshiro, can you get the guns for me?" He asked and his fellow taichou nodded. "Byakuya, Mayuri, can you collect Zaraki?" Starrk had really put the pain on the big man. He would survive but he wouldn't be happy for a while. Although Shunsui was sure what would really upset him was the fact that Starrk was dead and would never be able to fight him again. Kenpachi had been beaten before and only seemed to consider it a challenge.

But it was not a challenge Starrk would be able to meet. Shunsui tried not to look at the broken man in his arms, holding back his grief and guilt. Was there anything they could have done differently?

He would never know.

Honorable burial? Shit! Why can't they treat us like worthless hollows like they always have before?

Hush Lilinette. There will be an opportunity. Concentrate on suppressing the reaction.

I know, I've got it Starrk. You keep hiding our reiatsu.

Believe me, I'm trying. Being dead does help but if you slip up…

I know. I know!

Shunsui gazed into his sake, feeling sick with pain and guilt.

It wasn't his fault the Espada had committed suicide. He knew it wasn't. The man had made his own choice. Yet, a tiny inner voice kept tormenting him. He shouldn't have let Kenpachi tag along after them. He should have done something to stop that comment from Mayuri. Had that been what put Starrk over the edge? He would never know.

"Shunsui." He looked up as the door opened. A familiar, concerned face was there. He smiled sadly at the sight. "Are you alright?" Juushiro stepped into the room as he shook his head.

"Not really." He said sadly, looking down and into his sake. He could see his own reflection there. "…I didn't want him to die." Shunsui said as Juushiro took a seat across from him. He was very concerned about his old friend. "And he deserved so much better than to die like that." The surprisingly peaceful arrancar he'd fought over Karakura town, the man who'd shown mercy to every single opponent he'd defeated… he'd deserved better. Shunsui had been shocked to see him alive at all. He'd been absolutely certain he'd killed the Espada, and that had hurt his heart. To see him again and lose him so quickly… it was a terrible blow. Juushiro reached out to touch his hand.

"There was nothing you could have done." He said comfortingly. Shunsui took a deep breath before he nodded and took a deep drink of his sake.

"I know Juu. I know. It's just… the look on his face, right before he…" He would never forget that moment where Starrk had turned the weapon on himself. There had been such a peaceful look on his face before he'd pulled the trigger and destroyed himself. Shunsui had never seen anything like it and hoped to never see it again.

"Do you want to play shogi?" Juushiro suggested and he swallowed some more sake before nodding. Perhaps playing with his oldest friend would take his mind off the traumatic thing he had witnessed. Even with all his thousand years of experience, he'd never seen anything quite like it.

Halfway through their game there was a hard rap on the door. Shunsui looked up with a blink as Juushiro glanced behind his shoulder.

"Come in!" He called and the door slid open. To both their surprise, a pair of arrancar were there.

Halibel was wearing a jacket, designed much like her Espada one and meant to hide her bone fragments. This one, however, was dead black with a golden zipper. Her hakama was also black, denoting her new status as part of their forces. Grimmjow was also in black, with the insignia of the Eleventh on his arm. He was fitting in extremely well there, although he was loathe to admit it.

"Kyoraku taichou. Ukitake taichou. We have been told that Coyote Starrk is deceased and his body is being held within your Division?" Halibel asked and Shunsui winced to himself before managing a faint smile.

"I'm afraid so. I most deeply apologize. We wanted him to join us, not…" He looked down again, hardly seeing the board. All he saw was that dreadful moment in time. Halibel shook her head, her braids waving. Grimmjow was looking like he'd rather be somewhere else, grimacing slightly.

"It is we who must apologize to you. I am afraid I thought he was dead." She said and Shunsui blinked at her as Juushiro frowned. Then Grimmjow spoke.

"Yeah, that suicidal motherfucker had hopes, ya know? He figured if Aizen didn't win he could at least die on a shinigami's blade and that would finally do the trick. No luck, seems like. So where'd you put him? You checked on the body lately?" Grimmjow grinned then, his blue eyes flashing. "It's gonna get ya!" He chortled as Shunsui stared at him. Halibel shot him a glance of flat dislike.

"What?" He asked, perplexed. Halibel sighed before responding.

"As I said, we must apologize. We both thought he was dead. If we'd had any idea of his survival we would have warned you." She said before continuing, her tone uncomfortable. "Coyote Starrk is… highly unusual. He is a soul collection of surpassing age and complexity. As a result, he cannot die."

"He regenerates. Usually it starts happening right off but maybe he can hold it back. Anyway, you checked that body lately? Bet you a thousand yen it ain't there no more." Grimmjow said as Shunsui struggled to absorb what they were saying.

"That's not possible! I saw… he… he blew his own head off!" There had been no doubt whatsoever of the fatal nature of the wound. Grimmjow shrugged.

"He did that a few times in Los Noches. Cleaning brains off the wall is so much fucking fun. You should've heard the Numeros bitching. The last time the bastard did it, Aizen made him clean it up himself. You should have heard Lilinette going on!" Grimmjow maundered on but Shunsui wasn't listening. He came to his feet in a lurching move and practically dove out the door. They couldn't be right. They couldn't be…

But when he reached the room they'd placed the body, he saw nothing but an empty mat. The flowers he'd laid on the man were sitting on the floor, the petals already wilting. And there was a small piece of paper laid out on the mat. Picking it up, he began to read.

We play dead quite convincingly, do we not, Kyoraku Shunsui?

Coyote Starrk

Feeling the most profound relief he'd ever felt in his life, Shunsui began to laugh.


	2. Triage

Starrk wrung the excess water out of his cloth before gently setting it on the woman's forehead. She was young, but it was impossible to tell by looking at her. Her face had been worn old well before her time, like many of the slum residents of the Rukongai. As he set the cloth onto her burning forehead she opened her eyes.

"My… son…?" She asked in a dry whisper and he gently pressed a cup of water against her lips. It was pure, unlike the water that had put her into his care. She drank, weakly.

"He's fine." He said softly, knowing it was a lie. Her child had been too small and fragile to endure this. He had died a few hours past. "Rest." She closed her eyes, trusting him. He didn't feel bad for the lie. From what he sensed of her condition, she would not survive long. The little lie would make her more comfortable.

"Lupe-san? We need more water." One of the volunteers tugged at his sleeve and Starrk turned his head, giving her a small smile as he stood. The wolf in the corner pushed herself to her feet, shaking her head.

"Oi, want me to do it?" She asked and he nodded.

"If you could." That would be helpful. He had so much to do here. Lilinette yawned before following the volunteer outside. Starrk continued on his rounds, soothing the dying and providing them with water and herbal teas. Some would even live, if he was any judge. Not as many as he would have liked but life was very hard.

As he worked, he reached up to twirl the collar around his throat. The people of the Rukongai thought the circlet of black iron was a fashion statement. Any shinigami would have recognized the powerful runes inscribed in the surface, the incredibly rare and expensive utter blackness of purified seki seki stone. It was a collar meant to contain the reiatsu of a taichou and Aizen had hoped to someday have a victim to use it on. He would have been quite shocked to see Starrk wearing it.

After he'd escaped from the Seireitei, Starrk and Lilinette had wandered the sands for some time before becoming bored. Of course, boredom was practically their natural state of being. It explained why he'd always slept so much. Now, though, Starrk found he wanted more. He'd seen the Seireitei, if only briefly. He'd seen bits and pieces of the Living World. He wanted to see them again.

It had taken planning and another, very careful trip to Los Noches, but he and Lilinette had managed it. The first problem they'd had, had been Lilinette. Starrk's hollow hole and necklace of bones was not that hard to hide. A shirt and a good scarf took care of the whole thing. Her helmet, though, was simply impossible.

It had taken a great deal of work with their reiatsu, but they had finally managed to shift her form. Now, Lilinette was a large grey wolf with a few bone fragments stuck in her fur and a hole through her abdomen. Starrk had gotten her a collar and convinced everyone she was a 'tame' hollow. So far, no shinigami had come to investigate. But this was the absolute worst section of the Rukongai and the peasantry here had little love of shinigami.

The other difficulty the two of them had faced had been his own spiritual pressure. Without the collar he was wearing, Starrk would drive away plus souls like leaves before a gale, if he didn't simply kill them. But they had found a way around it. Starrk had remembered the cells and prisoner restraints. Slipping into Los Noches had been nerve wracking but they had filched this collar. Starrk had jammed the lock on it so it could be removed at will. That had dropped his spiritual pressure to roughly fraccion level and Starrk had worked on suppressing it even further. He had largely succeeded.

Now he was living in the Rukongai. He hadn't meant to become a healer. He had no skill with such things, reiatsu wise. But in that long ago life he could just vaguely remember, he had been a shaman. His duties to the tribe had included holding all the knowledge of how ills could be cured. And all the lives he'd absorbed through the countless millennium had given him a great store of homely knowledge to draw from. He could set bones, stitch wounds, brew herbal medicines and treat infections. Starrk had demonstrated his skill by accident, when he witnessed a small child run over by a cart. He'd set her leg with practiced skill, assuring her mother that everything would be fine. And soon enough, people began to turn to him.

They were looking to him now. Starrk grimaced as he glanced towards the far off Seireitei. This was one of the high numbered slums, very far from those sparkling gates. But he knew they were not so sparkling now. Great plumes of smoke rose over the city, visible even from the far Rukongai. Fortunately, as far as they were from the action no great battles had occurred here. But the shinigami and the quincy were clashing everywhere. That had affected the peasants, not that anyone really cared.

Then a flash of light exploded above and Starrk swore as he felt an extremely powerful reiatsu overhead. He didn't want to interfere. He really didn't. But they were directly over his clinic. Briefly, he considered helping the quincy before tossing the idea aside. As little liking as he had for shinigami, he was aware of the nature of quincy power. It was the complete antithesis of hollow energy. And while he wanted to die, he was not certain he wished to cease to exist.

Going outside, Starrk stared at the sky. His volunteers were running for cover and he could see that several buildings nearby were on fire, ignited by stray shots. Then an arrow of power fell to earth, heading directly at them. Starrk reached up and popped off his collar before stopping it with a simple gesture.

"This is going too far. Lilinette!" He had no idea what shinigami was up there fighting. If necessary, he would simply kill both combatants. Lifting into the sky he concentrated on focusing his runaway reiatsu on the combatants, to avoid harming his patients. It worked and they both noticed him instantly.

Starrk actually didn't recognize the shinigami for a moment. He'd lost an eye somewhere and lost his kimono as well. Overall, the Primera thought it was an improvement. But then, he was partial to eye patches. Kyoraku Shunsui seemed shocked to see him while the quincy was just baffled. Starrk could tell he was immensely powerful, but didn't care.

"Arrancar! Have you come to join us?" The quincy asked and Starrk snorted at the thought.

"I think not. Kick About, Los Lobos!" He commanded before attacking with the intent to drive the man away. Although he was not attacking just the quincy. Kyoraku came in for some of his fire as Starrk herded them out of his territory, behaving a bit like a sheepdog with two very recalcitrant sheep. He could tell neither one of them could figure out what he was doing, but he didn't care. He wanted them gone.

"What are you doing, Espada-san?" Shunsui asked as he ducked a blue cero and countered a few arrows. Starrk caught a quincy sword with a blue blade of energy, replying with a powerful cero before responding.

"Moving you!" That was really his entire goal. Move them away, not just away from the clinic but away from the entire section of the Rukongai he'd decided to call home. The other sections could handle their troubles themselves. This section was his.

"Why?!" The quincy shouted, less than amused with his actions. He was a strange looking man with far too many body piercings and an odd power with metal spikes, in addition to his arrows and other quincy powers.

"Because this is my territory!" Starrk called back. Then he was taken aback as the quincy snarled and called up a power like nothing he'd seen before. Angel wings looked rather odd on the man, but it was even stranger when the power tried to devour his own. He saw Shunsui grimacing as he struggled to block it out but Starrk was just baffled. What did the quincy think he was doing?

"Hey, let me have him Starrk!" Lilinette urged and Starrk shrugged. Why not?

"Okay." He fed a massive amount of reiatsu into his guns before letting go of them. They dissolved, flowing into the quincy. He could feel Lilinette's laughter as she became part of the man's energy… or so he thought.

Starrk watched impassively as a panicked expression passed over the man's face. Then he suddenly began to scream as the dreadful, eternally hungry power he'd absorbed began to devour him from within. Lilinette munched on him with terrible intent, enjoying her very toothsome meal. Shunsui stared as great holes began to open up in the quincies' body, his reiatsu being gulped down by the hollow he'd welcomed into himself. Nothing less than Starrk could have done it. But Starrk, in all his dark glory, was a unique and terrible thing. The screaming finally stopped as the man dissolved. Starrk opened a hand, holding it out to reclaim his weapon. The guns reappeared, as solid and dangerous as they ever were.

"That was tasty!" Lilinette said cheerfully as Kyoraku Shunsui drew a deep breath. Starrk looked at him for a moment before resealing his power and reaching for the black collar. He played with it idly, wondering how he was supposed to put it back on with the shinigami so close. He wanted to go back to the clinic and see to his patients but without his collar, he would certainly kill them.

"Well?" Starrk said after a moment as the man stared at him. "Aren't you going somewhere?" Surely he had things to do other than stare at a hollow. Then Shunsui suddenly smiled.

"Ah, Coyote Starrk! Thank you so much for helping me." He said with a cheerfulness that immediately struck Starrk as suspicious.

"Whatever bridge you're trying to sell me, I don't want it." He said bluntly and wasn't surprised when Shunsui put on an innocent look. Starrk's eyes narrowed and he considered trying to kill the man. Unfortunately, that hadn't worked well last time and he still hadn't seen the bastard's bankai. And if he was 'killed', Shunsui would know to cart off his body. It was hard to win.

"You look really creepy, you know that?" Lilinette said and Shunsui's look turned hurt as he looked at the hollow wolf. "Seriously old man, go molest a statue or something!"

"From what Halibel and Grimmjow have said, the two of you calling anyone 'old' is rather absurd." Shunsui pointed out, which was extremely accurate. Starrk sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I am not going with you. I must tend to my duties." He said firmly. He was sure that was what the shinigami wanted. He'd just destroyed a very powerful quincy as easily as breathing. The man looked puzzled.

"Duties?" He asked and Starrk just favored him with a stare. "What duties could you possibly have?"

"My duties to my patients." He said shortly, to Shunsui's confusion. "I'm running a clinic." And he would not forsake the people who had come to him for help. Kyoraku's confusion deepened.

"But… forgive me, you can't possibly have any healing abilities." Shunsui said after a moment and Starrk sighed.

"I can set a bone and stitch a wound. I can recognize almost any disease and condition known to man, and I know how to treat most of them with herbs and poultices. I know practical steps to prevent the diseases I cannot treat." Starrk said briefly and Shunsui blinked, staring at him in surprise. "In short, I am the best this place has. I must continue my work." It was, to him, every bit as important as what the shinigami were doing.

"…Forgive me, Starrk-san, but your true talents are being wasted." Shunsui said after a moment and Starrk's lips thinned as Lilinette giggled. She understood what was going through his mind. "You could be saving hundreds of lives."

"I am saving hundreds of lives. Simply because they are beneath your notice…" Starrk paused before taking a deep breath, controlling himself. "Your war has compromised the sewage system in this area of the Rukongai. There has been an outbreak of cholera. I've convinced them that the water needs to be boiled, but there's not enough materials for fires. My reiatsu might not be capable of healing but it's more than adequate for boiling water. Now, if you'll excuse me?" This was starting to anger him. Kyoraku Shunsui was a powerful man, a high noble and a mighty shinigami. How could he begin to understand what these people were going through? But for all his power, Starrk did understand. A hundred and one lives, ended too soon and in too much pain, flashed behind his eyes. Oh yes, he did understand. To his irritation, Shunsui followed him. Starrk briefly considered driving the man away before reconsidering. Starting another fight in a civilian area would be stupid and self-defeating.

Before he hit the ground he popped the collar back on and heard an indrawn breath behind him. Surprised, no doubt, at how the Primera's power had suddenly been crippled. Starrk ignored him as he began reassuring his volunteers and helping put out the fires. His reiatsu was good for that. He could suck away the heat, although he had to be careful. Too much of that would kill anyone too close.

The really annoying thing was the shinigami tagging along behind him. The volunteers were frightened of him and for very good reason. Shunsui could suppress his reiatsu quite well, but the peasants still recognized him as the new Soutaichou. That surprised Starrk a little. What had happened to the old one? He remembered that dreadful old man. That power had been frightening. Starrk might have as much raw power stored in his body but he had no way to effectively use it.

"Starrk, if I send several members of the Fourth to take over your duties here, would you consider joining us?" Kyoraku asked seriously and Starrk did not pause in his efforts to move some debris. This was one of the buildings hit by the quincy arrows and Starrk knew there was someone alive here. He could feel the faintest pulse of fading life.

"Perhaps…" Starrk had no particular interest in helping the shinigami but he really didn't like the quincy. And this conflict was causing nothing but problems. "Shit." He said mildly as he finally uncovered the source of the faint spark he'd been detecting. The little girl was alive, but just a cursory glance told him she wouldn't be for long. He did not bother to free her further, just turning aside.

"Wait, aren't you going to…?" Shunsui asked and Starrk flicked him a glance. He was looking slightly appalled at Starrk's indifference to the dying child.

"As you mentioned, I have no healing kido. There are others that require my attention. I believe it is called triage." He said, feeling a mild pain in his heart. Yet, Starrk knew it was just practical. There was no point in wasting his time on those who could not be helped. Shunsui frowned and Starrk paused as he saw the shinigami kneel in the wreckage, gently freeing the child and touching her with hands that were infused with the light of healing. For a moment, he wondered if the man could truly save her. Then Shunsui shook his head and drew his hands away as Starrk registered the cessation of that faint life spark.

"Oi! Starrk! I've got another live one!" Lilinette called and Starrk turned aside before jogging over the broken masonry. Shunsui was still following him, intent on acquiring a powerful arrancar for his forces.

"If you're the soutaichou now, don't you have something better to do than follow me around?" Starrk asked as he began to dig through a new section of rubble. Kyoraku shrugged.

"More important than following the arrancar who obliterated a powerful quincy without any real effort? No, not really." He said candidly and Starrk couldn't keep an unwilling smile from tugging at his lips. "We need you Starrk."

"You need a boot up the ass." He muttered as he dug, with unerring precision, and found the source of life in this ruin. It was a woman and her leg was partially crushed, but she was alive and would likely remain so. Starrk began to extract her and was not too surprised when hands joined him, clearing the rubble away. "It's all your fault this happened in the first place. The genocide of the quincy… was that necessary?" He asked, wondering if it was. He was a hollow so he understood the dreadful nature of the quincy power better than most. Shunsui sighed softly.

"I don't know. That was before my time. But to tell you the truth, I think it was." He said, sounding troubled. "You of all people should understand." Shunsui said and Starrk grimaced.

"I suppose I do. It makes me wonder where the quincy power came from." It was simply not right. Starrk knew that some people referred to humans, hollows and shinigami as separate species but he didn't think that was correct. Humans lived and died and either became hollows or went to Soul Society as plus souls. The spiritually powerful became shinigami. Shinigami could be devoured and turned into hollows or they died and were either reborn as souls or went to the Living World for a human rebirth. When hollows were cleansed, they either arrived in Soul Society as pluses or went for rebirth. It was a merry-go-round that never ended. But where did quincy feature into it? They could not hollowfy. Starrk had never heard of them going to Soul Society as a plus soul or becoming shinigami. To him, that seemed to say they were not human at all. They were Other, unconnected to the great cycle of life. That made him sad for them because he knew, in a vague sort of way, that they were like people in most respects. Unfortunately, their disconnection from the cycle made them very destructive.

"No one knows. Does that mean you'll help us?" Shunsui said hopefully and Starrk sighed as he carried the woman to his clinic. She was moaning, pained even in her unconscious state.

"If you provide some healers and guardians for these people, I will." He said, surrendering to the inevitable. Kyoraku wasn't going to go away until he said yes. And, when it came down to it, the shinigami hadn't started this war. The quincy could have continued in their splendid isolation, forging a separate world for themselves, far away from their ancient enemies. Starrk would have respected that.

It seemed appropriate, for a people who were no longer tied to the cycle of life, death and rebirth.


	3. Casualties

Starrk lay on his back, his eyes closed as he listened to the gentle strumming of his friend and partner's guitar.

Rose was only alive now because of him. Starrk had happened to arrive in time to see his bankai. And also hear the idiot explain how it worked to his enemy. He'd managed to save Rose from any injury when the Quincy he was facing exploded his own eardrums to get out of the bankai, but only at the cost of a painful injury to himself. Afterwards, he'd had some words to say and they hadn't been nice.

Has anyone ever told you that running your mouth can kill you? You practically told him how to defeat you! If Shunsui had explained to me how his shikai worked, he would have lost! Starrk smiled a little at the memory. It had been nothing but the truth and they had both known it.

"Do you hear it?" Rose asked and Starrk opened his eyes, glancing at the other man. He was looking out the window, his expression that slightly bored look he always had. But beneath it was something else, something that seemed very sad and tired to Starrk. But then, they were all suffering under the relentless attacks.

"No." He said softly, wishing he had a different answer. "I can't. I'm sorry." He did regret that he could find no beauty in the sounds his friend was making. But to him, it was only noise. He was learning to tolerate it but that was all.

"Ah, well. Maybe someday." Rose said with a smile before putting his guitar aside and settling down with him on the bed mat. He placed an arm around Starrk, snuggling close, but there was no spark in the air. They were both too tired and sick of battle for anything intimate. All they wanted was the comfort of being close to each other. "Soon, the Zero squad will arrive. Are you ready?"

"Mmm." Everyone had high hopes for him and the Zero squad. "I only hope they can help me." Starrk and Lilinette's problem was that there was only so much of their power they could release at once. Like trying to force all the water of a lake out through a faucet. Terrific force could be generated but it was not as much as it could be.

"I hope they can help me." Rose said with a small sigh and Starrk understood his troubles. The trick Mask had tried wasn't the only problem with his bankai. Starrk had demonstrated the other problem himself… he closed his eyes as he remembered.

"I want you to try your bankai against me." Grey eyes met confused violet.

"Why?"

"I want to see if it will work. I don't think it will." That made Rose frown and pull out his zanpakuto. Soon the orchestra was playing and the figures were moving. Starrk did nothing, observing passively as Rose tried to launch a weak version of Prometheus, his fire attack.

It did exactly nothing. The arrancar just watched as the figures tried, time and again, to burn him. It simply didn't work and Rose's eyes widened at the sight.

"You… you're not deaf!" He said, confused and Starrk sighed as he scratched himself behind his ear. Lilinette wasn't with him and for good reason. She was a younger soul and would be vulnerable.

"No. But I can't hear your music. I hear a rather annoying noise." Starrk said, stunning the other man.

"You're tone deaf?" He asked and Starrk frowned. He honestly wasn't sure what that meant.

"I'm not sure… I am very old. My people had no music." He said and saw something that surprised him on the other man's face. Compassion for him?

"That's so sad…" Rose murmured and Starrk just blinked at him. Sad? Of course, he didn't know what he was missing. Maybe it was sad…

Starrk smiled as he remembered the tests afterwards. Rose had handled it himself, and by trial and error they had determined he was not actually tone deaf. He could tell the differences between half notes easily. But something, somewhere, was broken in his mind. Some critical link that would take the notes and turn them into a harmonious whole, rather than a discordant jangle. Turning his attention to the man against him, he buried his face in that beautiful, golden hair.

"Starrk, why do you hate Kyoraku soutaichou?" Rose suddenly asked and Starrk blinked.

"I wouldn't say I hate him…" That was such a strong word. "I merely… dislike him." That was certainly true. He was civil but had rejected several overtures from the man. "He irritates me."

"Why?" Rose said simply and Starrk blinked, trying to find an answer. He hadn't really thought much about his reaction before. He gave it a bit of deep thought before doing his best.

"He is a noble, born with both power and position. He rarely thinks about the peasants of the Rukongai, and usually only if I point out to him what will happen to them." Starrk remembered one particular plan to blow up a dam in order to flood an area and make it harder for the Quincies to pass through. Starrk had been the one to point out that they could anticipate many deaths among the peasantry in the area. Both from the flood and the inevitable disease that would follow. "It… irritates me that he wants to be my friend. If I were what I once had been, I would be beneath his notice." Merely a rather strange animal. Or perhaps, an object of pity. Starrk's lip curled slightly at the thought.

"…So, essentially, this is a class thing?" Rose said after a moment and Starrk blinked as he parsed that.

"You make it sound so petty." He said after a moment. Rose lifted his head and looked at him, his violet eyes rather stern.

"Isn't it?" He said and Starrk was silent for a moment. Was he being petty and unfair? "Shunsui does his best, Starrk. Before all this happened, the Kyoraku estates were among the best run in the Seireitei." Rose paused for a moment, then sighed softly. "I do understand where you're coming from. You probably don't know, but I was born into the Rukongai. Before the Academy was founded, I wouldn't have been considered worthy to own a sword, much less become a shinigami. Many of the nobles at the academy could be difficult, for a street brat like me." He said softly and Starrk nodded. He could picture that. "But Shunsui isn't like that. He would never hold their birth against someone. He is still a high noble and maybe that clouds how he sees the world, but he's a good man Starrk."

"….Hn." Starrk closed his eyes as lives flashed behind his eyes. So many, dead too soon, the unpitied and unremembered victims of war. He could see those lives, ended so painfully, completely disregarded by those who should have defended or at least tried. And he knew the mindset of the noble, that those little lives were nothing, merely objects to be used and discarded to benefit the nobility. But could he picture Shunsui sharing that mindset? His mind flashed back to the little girl the man had tried to heal. No, Shunsui wouldn't feel that way. He had trouble thinking of them at all, sometimes, but he did not dismiss them as mere pawns. "Perhaps you are right. I will be more… amenable, in the future." And perhaps he would make an overture of his own. It wasn't right, letting Shunsui do all the heavy lifting. Rose smiled and gently kissed him on the cheek.

"You know, that's what I love about you." Rose said softly, which surprised Starrk a bit. That was the first time either of them had used that word. "You take criticism well and are always willing to think about things."

"Mmm, thank you." That was true. "You know what I love about you?" Starrk suddenly said and Rose lifted his head, curious. "You care about those around you, always." The shinigami's eyes softened and he smiled, squeezing Starrk's hand.

"Thank you. That's not as romantic as 'you have beautiful eyes', but it's far more meaningful." He said and Starrk nodded. Silence fell and soon, they were both deeply asleep.

The war with the Quincy seemed to be neverending. They would rest when they could.

As time went on, Starrk could see the effects of the conflict on Shunsui.

He wished, more than once, that the terrible old man he'd felt on the battlefield of fake Karakura town hadn't fallen so easily. But then, to have his greatest power ripped away and used on him… having such a great power had actually become his fatal weakness. A weaker bankai might have been avoided but not Ryujin Jakka.

Starrk didn't want the man for himself, of course. He hadn't known Genryusai Yamamoto at all. But he wished the man was here to take up the responsibilities of command. As old and wise and strategically brilliant as Kyoraku Shunsui was, he was suffering greatly under the strain. How could he not? This war was unparalled in its bitterness. And he hadn't even been involved in causing it. Shunsui hadn't been alive when the Quincy had been massacred. It seemed massively unfair that Yamamoto wasn't available to clean up his own mess.

But life was unfair and Starrk had learned to accept that an immensely long time ago. After all, he was the perfect example of the unfairness of the universe. Death denied to him for all eternity, even soul cleansing beyond his reach… what was the fairness in that? Leaving aside any worthless thoughts of 'fair', Starrk turned his mind back to Shunsui. The man was slowly but surely falling apart. The final blow had been the loss of Juushiro. He was either dead or captured, they weren't sure which. And they also weren't sure which was worse. The Quincy could be horrifically inventive, likely payback for the atrocities Soul Society had visited on them. The fact that Juushiro was also too young to be involved meant nothing to them.

"Oi, Starrk!" A little girl landed on his chest and he grunted. With no need to hide their nature, Lilinette had assumed her true form. It was nicer for her than the wolf, really. Strangers didn't respect her as much, perhaps, but she had hands. "You've been sleeping all day!"

I wasn't sleeping. He didn't bother to tell her that, though. Truthfully, half the time he was 'sleeping' he was actually just thinking deep thoughts. Starrk vastly preferred that everyone thought he was sleeping, though. If they knew he was thinking they tended to ask him what he was thinking about and that was just an exhausting question to answer. Starrk preferred to not go there.

"Well, I'm awake now." He said before sitting up and glancing at the window. The sun was just beginning to set. "You wake me up when the sun is going down?" He asked and she rolled her single eye.

"You're a dumbass! We're having a little victory celebration, remember?" She said and Starrk paused before sighing.

"Oh, right." The last offensive had killed several powerful sternritters. And Starrk's power was only becoming greater. The Zero Squad's training had worked wonders for him, teaching him a second resurrection. It was terrible and Starrk knew he might eventually face Juha Bach with it. He had yet to use it in combat, though. They were saving that as a surprise for just the right time. "Well, let's go." Vaguely, Starrk wondered if Shunsui would be there. They had hoped to recover Juushiro, or at least his body, on the offensive. But they had found nothing.

Starrk greeted Rose warmly as they met in the clearing the party was being held in. The Visored smiled back at him but they soon parted, not to Starrk's surprise. They were not exclusive and it was clear Rose had his eye on someone else tonight. Starrk didn't mind. When Rose had first approached him, he'd made it clear he wasn't quite ready to settle down.

So Starrk circulated through the party, just being friendly. It was a bit difficult for him. He was in no way a people person. Soon, he found himself relegated to the sidelines, snacking on a bit of roasted bird. As he did, though, he scanned the crowd for a certain person. Would Kyoraku Shunsui come to the party?

The answer was no. Starrk set his food aside with a frown as he realized the man was nowhere to be seen. Leaving Lilinette behind – she was having fun – he decided to go check Shunsui's quarters. They weren't his original ones. Those had been destroyed in the fighting. Now he was living in a heavily warded compound, part of a much larger structure. Starrk wasn't sure what it had been for originally but it was strong and highly defensible. So far, nothing and no one had penetrated it.

Starrk's own quarters were there so he had the locks to the door, so to speak. He didn't actually know the way to Shunsui's quarters but his reiatsu sensing was excellent. He soon tracked the man's power to a certain room and knocked firmly on the door. There was a shuffling inside before the door opened.

Starrk was honestly alarmed by Shunsui's appearance. His eyes were rimmed with red and he reeked of alcohol. His hair looked unwashed and his clothing was badly stained. How long had he been drinking? No one had seen him the previous day and things were quiet, so he'd been left undisturbed. Starrk wished they hadn't, now.

"Starrk?" Shunsui seemed surprised to see him. But then, why wouldn't he be? "To what do I owe the honor?" He said with a crooked smile, his tone a bit strange. Starrk decided to ignore that and just met his eyes calmly.

"I noticed you were not at the celebration and thought you might like some company." He said quietly and saw a flash of something, surprise? Pass over the man's face before vanishing. "I brought you something." He added, lifting his hand. It was a bottle of sake. "Although I don't think you need it at the moment." The smell really was appalling. Of course, Starrk's sense of smell was doglike in sensitivity. Perhaps shinigami would not notice the stench, although Starrk doubted it. Shunsui's eyes seemed to light a little as he saw the bottle.

"Ah, thank you! I was just about out." He said cheerfully and Starrk winced to himself. Shunsui was completely ignoring his last sentence, but he resigned himself to watching the man drink as he handed the bottle over. He couldn't dictate when Shunsui would use it. "Please come in." He offered and Starrk nodded, taking the invitation and glancing around as he stepped inside. Not to his surprise, the room was a mess. Cleaning was not too high on the priority list these days. "Would you like some?"

"Certainly." Starrk answered. Refusing would be rude and besides, he'd come to keep Shunsui company. If he was going to drink, well, that was what Starrk would do. They drank in silence for a time and Starrk looked out the window, watching as the sun went down. He honestly wasn't sure what to say –

"Why are you here? I thought you hated me." Shunsui said and Starrk blinked, looking back at him. The man was staring at him with drunken directness. Starrk sighed before reaching up to rub his forehead. Did everyone think that? He suspected the answer was yes.

"I don't hate you. I never hated you. I merely found you irritating." He said honestly and Shunsui dropped his gaze into his drink, a hurt expression on his face. "I'm here partly because Rose pointed out to me that I was being unfair and classist."

"I… wait, what? Classist?" Shunsui said, confused. Starrk smiled at him before taking a sip of his drink.

"You are a high noble and a very powerful man. It affects how you view the world, and that rubbed me the wrong way. Rose was gracious enough to tell me I was being petty and I've taken his words to heart." Really, Rose was right. It was a very stupid thing to hold against someone. Shunsui suddenly laughed and Starrk blinked. "Hm?"

"…A super powered hollow, a power even that idiot Grimmjow fears, and you hold my being a noble against me? That seems rather absurd!" Shunsui said cheerfully before taking a deep drink of his sake. Starrk shrugged.

"It may seem that way but you must think of the composition of my souls. I may have dukes, duchesses, earls and knights in here, but they are vastly outnumbered by the commoners, I assure you." Starrk said lightly before smiling. It was a crooked, unhappy smile. "The victims of war, of plague and famine, the murdered and the murderers… they are all here. Every last one." He said softly and saw Shunsui swallow. Then he deliberately lightened his tone. "But as I said, it was petty. And it occurred to me that you should not be alone. So, I am here."

"To keep me company?" Shunsui sounded both sad and amused. "Well, you have good timing I suppose." He said and Starrk tilted his head slightly in inquiry. But the other man said nothing more. They drank in silence for a time and Starrk could almost see the gloom settling over Shunsui.

"…You miss him." He suddenly said, knowing it might be a mistake. But he had to say something. Shunsui gazed into his drink, expression deeply saddened.

"He's probably dead. I almost hope he's dead. The things they do to captives…" He said and Starrk bowed his head. They had found a few remains, in some of the camps they had taken. The Quincy were merciless towards captive shinigami.

"My one fear in this conflict is the thought of being taken alive." Starrk said quietly and Shunsui nodded. "I fear they know about my regeneration. It would be… highly useful to them." A horrific thought and entirely plausible, if he happened to fall into Quincy hands.

"And yet, you fight." Shunsui observed and Starrk smiled.

"I have never been a coward, Kyoraku Shunsui. I've been many things but not that." He did not seek danger out but he did not turn aside from it, either.

"Mmm." They fell into silence again, but it was a better silence. Eventually, though, even Shunsui had to reach his capacity. Starrk watched as the shinigami blinked and yawned. The hand holding the sake was shaking, although he did not seem quite ready to give it up. Starrk decided it was time to take action.

"You've had enough. Come, it's time for bed." He stood and went to Shunsui's side, gently prying the saucer out of his hand. The man let him and he helped Shunsui to his bedroom. When he tried to set the man down, though, a hand suddenly gripped his wrist.

"Stay with me. Please stay." He breathed and Starrk met his red rimmed eyes, surprised. He'd thought Kyoraku only liked women. "I… need…" Starrk found himself pulled down into a kiss. The taste of sake on those warm, slightly chapped lips was strong. For a moment the feeling was all that mattered, the taste of the alcohol and the hard body beneath him. Then rationality intruded and Starrk tried to pull away.

"Shunsui, you are drunk." He said gently. This probably wasn't a good idea. What if Shunsui wasn't really aware of who he was trying to have sex with? The desperation on the shinigami's face, though, stilled any further protests.

"I just need… something… please." He whispered and Starrk swallowed before nodding. Shunsui was in such pain. He would do what he could to ease it.

There was no lubrication that Starrk could see, so he made do with spit. That was fine. As insane as his body was about regenerating, he would hardly feel the pain. Going down Shunsui's body he decided to moisten his dick in the most direct, pleasurable way available. Shunsui groaned, hands tangling in his hair as that hot mouth enclosed his erection. Starrk opened himself up as he worked on the shinigami, slowly sucking and gently working that firm, pulsing flesh.

When he thought he was ready he pulled back, before moving back up Shunsui's body. The drunk man just looked at him in anticipation, his breath coming fast as he realized what Starrk was going to do. Starrk lowered himself onto the man's cock, grimacing slightly at the flash of pain. It dulled swiftly, though, and he drew a deep breath as he began to move.

"Oh sweet kami Starrk…" Hands were on his hips, guiding him. But not for long. Starrk grunted in surprise as Shunsui abruptly took control, swapping their positions. Starrk was on his back then as Shunsui rode him powerfully, taking him with quick, strong strokes. Starrk cried out, a wordless, lustful sound as his prostate was hit. The shinigami knew what he was doing. Clearly, this was not Shunsui's first time with a man… "Starrk. The look on your face… so beautiful." Shunsui whispered in his ear and Starrk could only groan, his hands tangling in Shunsui's kimono. They were both still largely clothed. Somehow, that was arousing…

Hands gripped his rump and pulled him closer, as Shunsui tried to get everything he could from Starrk's body. The arrancar beneath him was withering in pleasure, crying out with abandon. He didn't care who heard them, if anyone was even here. They might all be at the party. But what did it matter? All that mattered was the pleasure and passion of the moment. Grey eyes met grey and Starrk saw the desperate need, the burning passion in Shunsui's eyes.

"Shunsui, harder, uh…" Starrk gasped out, his voice full of his own need. Shunsui's eyes widened just before he tried to obey, speeding his rhythm and taking him even deeper. "AH!" Starrk arched, his neglected member rubbing between the two of them as his prostate was scored another direct hit. The incredible sensations were undoing his control.

"Always wanted this… from the first time I saw you…" Shunsui said in his ear and Starrk marveled at that with the tiny part of his mind that was not occupied with their rutting. When they'd faced over fake Karakura town, Shunsui had been thinking of this? That might explain the smile on his face… then the pleasure wiped away any rational thought and Starrk cried out, his voice deep and full of need. "Kami, so vocal…" Their lips met as Shunsui swallowed his sounds, exploring his mouth with all the passion in the world.

It seemed to go on forever. Starrk was almost incoherent, sweat beading on his face and trickling down his fine skin, when he felt the churning pleasure finally coming to a peak. Shunsui grunted, his grey eyes intent on the man beneath him, the look on his face and the tight heat surrounding his member. Reaching between them, he grasped Starrk's cock and gave him a quick series of jerks. Starrk arched with a low cry as his release coated Shunsui's hand, splattering between the two of them. His whole body tightened and he looked into Shunsui's face as the shinigami found his own moment of pleasure. The look on his face, the intense concentration and the passion there… Starrk held on to his shoulders, feeling breathless and weak as Shunsui spent himself into his body. The seething heat in his core made him shudder and Starrk felt it as his body absorbed the power, greedily looking for more. He had to restrain his sudden hunger, just gently nuzzling Shunsui's neck. It was always like that, when he made love. His instincts always wanted to feed just afterward. But Starrk was in control of that instinct.

"Oh Starrk." Shunsui whispered in his ear, sounding tired and content. "Please stay. I need you." He said and Starrk blinked, wondering if he meant for just the night. Or did he mean forever? It didn't matter. He couldn't turn aside from this strong, brave, struggling man.

"I will stay." He promised and Shunsui's smile was beautiful. He slowly pulled away and they slowly settled together on the sleeping mat. Starrk curled up with him, just enjoying the closeness.

In these troubled times, that was sometimes all they had.


End file.
